The main steps to follow for opening a company abroad

Starting a business in a foreign country no longer implies lengthy and complicated procedures as many governments took measures to streamline the company registration procedure.

When it comes to European countries, the opening of a company can be even simpler thanks to the EU regulations which provide for a harmonised legislation across all member states. So, those interested in starting a business in Romania, for example, will benefit from many advantages from a legal point of view.

Below, we will analyse the main steps for opening a company in another country, no matter if it is a European state or not.

Preparation of the documents

The first and most important step is the preparation of the documents for company registration.

These depend on whether the owner is a natural person or a corporate entity when it comes to the information about the shareholding structure.

It is very important to keep in mind that these documents need to be translated into the language of the state in which the company will activate and then they need to be authenticated.

Another set of important papers is the business’ statutory documents which will be drafted in the country’s official language directly. Those who plan on setting up a limited liability company in Malta, for instance, will need to have drafted the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company.

Filing the documents with the Trade Register

Once the documents are ready, they need to be filed with the Companies Register. One of the things to be noted at this stage is that, in some countries, the Registrar will require a local professional agent, a lawyer or a resident to submit the documentation.

Other information to be filed with the Registry apart from the incorporation documents refer to the letters of appointment of company managers and, in some cases, company secretary.

Tax and social security registration

Once the Companies House issues the Certificate of Registration and the unique identification number, the company will need to register with the tax authorities and obtain a tax identification and a VAT number.

In some countries, the registration for taxation occurs at the same time with the incorporation with the Trade Register, however, in some states it is not the case.

Next, the company will need to register for social security purposes. This is the way it will obtain the status of an employer.

Licensing – the final step in company registration

Once the company has obtained the Certificate of Registration, the tax and VAT number, it can start the licensing procedure. At this stage, it is important to notice that for each industry there is a separate body to issue the business license, which can imply the preparation of more documents.

Starting a business abroad will usually imply the same steps as opening a company in one’s home country, the only different things to consider being the language, the licensing procedures and the taxation system, so once these steps are understood and correctly completed, the procedure can be nothing but successful.

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